Safari’s Op Maat / Tailor Made Safaris

Placement organization

Name of organization: Safari’s Op Maat / Tailor Made Safaris
Town/city: St. Lucia Estuary
Country: Zuid-Afrika
Website: https://www.tailormadesafaris.co.za/

Student

Name of student: Jessica Oosterwijk

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2018-2019

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: Tailor Made Safaris makes tailor-made tours through South Africa.
Target group of the organization: Higher income
Company culture: It’s informal at the office. You can talk about anything with your colleagues, but they do expect you to work hard
Number of employees: 10
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

There are no different departments in the office. The person who has contact with the customer ensures that the entire journey is made for that customer. So, you learn how a tour is made from the beginning to the end.

Brief description of your daily activities: Making trips for customers
Making quotes
Making cost calculations
Booking accommodation & activities
Making self-drive books
Making social media posts
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment was related to Search Engine Advertising. I had to make a Google AdWords account and create, monitor and improve the advertisements to get more customers. At the end I gave an advice whether the company should continue with the advertisements.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: You will have a progress interview every 4 weeks in which you discuss learning objectives.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Social, independent, hardworking
Additional company requirements for this placement? Basis skills of Word and Excel
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? You get accommodation from the company
How did you go to work every day? You get a bicycle from the company

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: The company gave most of the documents
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? 2 months
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? 3 weeks

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Only if your English isn’t good

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 800
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 0 (car rental is approximately 35 euros per day)
General costs of living (monthly): € 200
Costs of visa: € 35
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? the company has accommodation for you. It is a bedroom at the office. You share the kitchen / bathroom with the office.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
You do not really have to prepare, but do expect differences.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 160273@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: -Start on time with your visa application
-It is a very small village and you really have to rent a car to do activities outside the village
-Good English speaking and writing skills is very important for this company
-Hippos are walking through the village at night. Make sure you have a flashlight with you!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Activities in the village: crocodile center, hippos & crocodiles boat trip, fishing, spearfishing, night safari, horse riding safari, bike ride, whale watching, turtle tour, beach, restaurants

In the neighborhood (rent a car!): Cat rehabilitation center, elephant interaction, (guided) game drives, surfing, diving, swimming with dolphins, cultural Zulu tour, spending the night in a wildlife reserve, walking safaris

The village is very small and you need a car to do most activitie. The village is between a lot of wildlife reserves, so you can do many guided/self drive game drives and spend nights in the bush.

There are 2 bars which are nice at the weekends. But do not expect a busy nightlife.

There is much to do, but no city in the neighborhood.

I have done some great activities that I will never forget!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link